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The Price of Magnums

Magnum handguns and shotguns are all well and good, but sometimes there is just too much of a good thing.

The Price of Magnums
The differences between the .44 Special Ruger Blackhawk (bottom) and the .44 Magnum Ruger Super Blackhawk (top) are not immediately apparent, but the grip is smaller, the gun is almost four ounces lighter (fully loaded), and the cylinder is slimmer— all of which become evident the minute you pick them up.

There is a lot to be said for magnum handguns that allow you to shoot lower-power loads—the .357 Magnum/.38 Special combination being the obvious one. But there is something to be said against it, too, and that is that dedicated guns, tailored to lower-powered cartridges, can cease to exist. In many situations, for example, a .44 Special in a lightweight, compact gun might be ideal. But where can you get one? There are one or two around—the Charter Arms Bulldog, for example—but that might not suit your purposes. This situation exists in handguns and shotguns but not in rifles, unless you count those rifles chambered for handgun cartridges. It comes about when a cartridge is simply lengthened to give it more powder capacity, and hence, more power, and is dubbed a “magnum.” When the .44 Magnum cartridge was introduced in 1955—simply the .44 Special case lengthened—production of .44 Special guns very shortly ceased. Manufacturers could produce one magnum model, promote it as dual purpose, and sell a ton. The problem is, a gun chambered to .44 Magnum is heavier and bulkier because it needs to withstand magnum pressures, and the extra weight helps dampen increased recoil.

The same is true of shotguns. Twenty years ago, a gentleman considering a custom shotgun from Spain asked for my help. The gun was to be a side-by-side sidelock, and since it was to be his “only custom gun, ever,” he wanted it to be versatile. Accordingly—and against my advice—he ordered a 12 gauge with 3.0-inch chambers but with 26-inch barrels for hunting in thick brush. The result—$6,000 later—was a great disappointment. Because it had to pass 3.0-inch proof, the frame was heftier, as were the barrels at the breech end, making the gun heavier and poorly balanced. In trying to get a gun that would do everything, my correspondent ended up with a gun that would do nothing very well. When I advised against this, I spoke from experience. Twenty years earlier, I bought a Browning BS/S 20 gauge. It had 3.0-inch chambers, 26-inch barrels, a hefty beavertail forearm and pistol grip, and weighed 7.5 pounds. No 20 gauge needs to weigh that much—6.0 pounds is ideal—but anything much lighter and the 3.0-inch, 1¼-ounce magnum loads would have been killers, as Browning knew.

Today, almost all new 20 gauges, and most 12 gauges, have 3.0-inch chambers and are accordingly heavy. There has even been a move afoot to inflict the same burden on the sweet little 28 gauge—with, undoubtedly, eventually the same result. Fifty years ago, proponents of the magnum 20 insisted it could become the equal of a 12 by using 1¼-ounce loads. Believe me, it cannot, and a patterning board will prove it beyond all question. And anyway, if you want a 12, why not buy one? And the reverse? This is not the place to discuss the relative merits of, say, a 1-ounce load in the 12 gauge or a 7/8-ounce load in the 20, but trust me, both are highly effective and a pleasure to shoot. The only exception to this disturbing trend is the 3.0-inch .410, which is undoubtedly superior to the 2½-inch shell, but then, neither is anything to write home about. In handguns, the trend to magnum chamberings only is most pronounced with the .44. Standard .38 Specials are still around (the S&W J-Frame, for example) and there are so few .32s available, of any description, it’s hardly worth considering, although a regretful sob or two is certainly warranted. Fortunately for us all, there is a healthy used-gun market in the U.S. Since any good gun that is properly looked after will outlast several owners, if a gun was ever made, anywhere, you can probably find one. It might cost you a few bucks, depending on its rarity and collector status, but on the other hand, it might well cost a lot less than something new. And I would bet you’ll like it better.




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